FD vs RD calculator
A fixed deposit puts a lump sum in once; a recurring deposit adds a fixed amount every month. See what each would mature to at the same rate, compounded quarterly, over the same period.
Illustrative only — this is not a projection or a promise of returns. Every figure below is arithmetic applied to the rate of return you typed in. H2 Investment is not suggesting that rate, forecasting it, or promising it. Returns are market-linked, vary from year to year, and can be negative.
What this is, and what it isn’t
This is arithmetic on the numbers you typed. It compounds them at the rate you chose and shows you the result. That is all it does.
It is an illustration, not a projection. It is not a forecast, not a recommendation, and not an offer. Nobody knows what any investment will return, so the rate you enter is an assumption you are making, not a rate anyone is offering you. Real returns arrive unevenly — good years, flat years and falling years, in an order nobody can predict — and that order matters as much as the average.
Use the output the way you’d use a rough estimate on the back of an envelope: to see whether the shape of a plan is roughly right, not to decide what a specific rupee amount will be worth on a specific date.
These are the maturity values the arithmetic gives at the rate and term you enter, before tax. They are an illustration of how the two deposit types differ, not a quote — ask your bank for its exact figures and current rates.
What this calculation assumes
Both deposits are worked at the same rate, compounded quarterly — the usual bank convention. The FD earns on the whole sum from day one; each recurring instalment earns only for the months it is on deposit. Three things sit behind the figures:
- Quarterly compounding. Interest is compounded every quarter, the standard bank convention. Your bank’s exact figure can differ by a few rupees depending on how it rounds and on the day each instalment lands.
- Interest is taxable. Interest on both an FD and an RD is added to your income and taxed at your slab rate, and the bank deducts TDS above the threshold. The maturity figures here are before that tax.
- A deposit is not a fund. This compares two bank deposits with each other, not with mutual funds. A bank pays a contracted rate for the term; a mutual fund’s returns are market-linked and can be negative. The two are not like for like, so they are not compared here.
New to the idea behind this? SIP or a fixed deposit walks through it in plain language.
Talk to us
If you’d rather go through your own numbers with a person than a form, that’s what we’re for. You’ll speak to Himani, who runs H2 — the same person every time.
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